Crock Pot Moroccan Lentil Soup [Vegan]

I really need to make and post more Crock Pot recipes. Crock Pot meals are so much fun…they require so little work when you throw everything into the Crock Pot, and it’s so awesome to have dinner all ready to go in the evening, especially when you know it’s been simmering away all day!

It’s kind of hard to come up with Crock Pot recipes, though. I am never super confident that my cook times will be right on stuff. Like these lentils, for example. Are they going to be complete mush in six hours? Will the veggies have any substance whatsoever after that long?

It’s just more challenging and intimidating than traditional recipes. But when they turn out well, it’s extra satisfying! Like this soup…this soup is definitely one of my new favorite Crock Pot recipes – I absolutely LOVE it. It’s crazy easy to assemble, and the flavors are just out of this world. Between the lemon and the Moroccan spices we throw in there, DAAANNNGG. Super good, yo. Not to mention it makes a TON. Not to mention it’s super healthy. Not to mention it’s deliciooouuus.

This recipe did take some research. I had to read up a lot about Moroccan cuisine and flavors. It was really interesting, actually, and it made the recipe even more fun to make and eat knowing that it stays true to some authentic Moroccan-ness! One thing that I wanted to put in here but couldn’t are preserved lemons.

Have you ever heard of them? I hadn’t before researching Moroccan food. You can actually make your own really easily. Slice lemons into quarters, add salt, fill the jar with lemon juice/water, and let it sit in your fridge for about a month. I really really really want to try making them and then venture even deeper into the yumminess of Moroccan cooking 😍. And just the yumminess of preserved lemons in general. Apparently they have a deep flavor, but not an overpowering lemon-ness.

In this soup, I had to settle for regular, non-preserved lemon…laaammmmeee. Just kidding, regular lemons are yummy too. Love you, regular lemons! Continue to flavor my food and water and dressing with your tangy goodness!

So, let’s talk about the flavors in this soup that make it “Moroccan:”

Lemon

Cinnamon

Cumin

Turmeric

Ginger

Paprika

Coriander

The combination of all these things leaves us with a soup that has a billion delicious flavors assaulting your tongue (in a good way 👍) with a mix of warm spices (like the cinnamon and ginger) and bold spices (like the cumin and paprika). The lemon cooks into the soup for the full six hours, infusing not only the juice, but flavor from the peel also.

Overall, it’s the bomb.com.

Guess. What. Happened. Yesterday.

We found out the gender of our baby! It was such a fun and exciting appointment. There aren’t many things in my life that I’ve looked forward to as much as that. I think my wedding day, Seth’s deployment homecoming, and this doctor’s appointment have been my most anticipated-with-excitement events of my life so far.

I am nooooot exactly known for my patience…so waiting until week 20 was a STRUG fest. But so worth it!

Unfortunately, we are keeping it a secret from the general public until the end of March. Seth’s parents are planning a visit the last weekend of March, so we would love to be able to tell them in person. SO – since they are waiting, I can’t announce it on Facebook or the blog or anything or else they will see!

And I’m trying really hard in this post not to talk about the appointment in too much detail so that I don’t give anything away to family reading this. So if I seem super vague…I’m trying to be super vague…😀. Apologies for keeping you in the dark for almost a whole month, blog friends! Trust me, it will be challenging. I’m a pretty wiiiiide open book on here, so not sharing this will be tough! But…just a month and then it will be public info 😉.

When the six hours are up, remove the lid and, using tongs, lightly squeeze the lemon halves into the soup before discarding

Season to taste with salt and pepper - I added a pretty decent amount of extra salt, but this will totally depend on how salty you like your food - I love salt :).

*The reason I cook the onions before adding everything to the Crock Pot is because I think adding raw onions to the Crock Pot yields a very strange, almost metallic flavor. It will overtake a dish for me. A friend told me that pre-cooking the onions takes the odd flavor away completely, and it really does!*

3.5.3226

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

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Annie Chesson
I am a passionate Christian, proud Army wife, cooking addict, and owner of the cutest German Shepherd/Lab in the whole world! Join me in my journey to create delicious, flavorful food. More About Me...